President Biden on Friday finalized the color scheme for the new iteration of Air Force One, the U.S. Air Force announced. The next version of the presidential plane will keep the same basic livery as the current aircraft, with a few minor tweaks.
In a press release, the Air Force said that the design for the upcoming VC-25B, a customized Boeing 747-8 that is slated to begin serving as Air Force One in the late 2020s, will have "three primary differences" from the current livery. This includes a light blue base with a slightly "deeper, more modern tone" and a darker blue around the cockpit. The polished metal section seen on the current Air Force One will also be done away with, as "modern commercial aircraft skin alloys don't allow for it."
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Biden's decision to keep the current livery, which dates back to the Kennedy administration, does away with a previous choice made by former President Donald Trump in 2019. Trump had selected a darker red, white, and blue color scheme for the new plane, but the Biden administration made it clear upon taking office that they would do away with this palette.
The Air Force said the dark blue in Trump's livery would have required additional testing "due to the added heat in certain environments," and would have also raised operational costs.
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